Good news on the water desalination front from forbes.com. Here is an excerpt from Ucilia Wang's report: "After over a dozen years of legal and regulatory battles, the largest seawater desalination plant in the United States is under construction and will use a technology that recovers and re-uses energy that would otherwise go to waste.The $1 billion California project, located in Carlsbad in northern San Diego County, will employ Energy Recovery‘s equipment that captures the energy from the highly pressurized water after it moves through the filter to turn sea water into fresh water and gives the low-pressure water at the intake a boost before it move through the filter.

The technology will help the plant save an estimated 116 million kilowatt hours of energy, or $12 million, per year, the company said. Energy Recovery, based in San Leandro in the San Francisco Bay Area, plans to ship 144 pressure exchangers for the project in November or December, said CEO Tom Rooney.The project is an important contract for Energy Recovery, which is counting on the Carlsbad project to kickstart a construction boom of seawater desalination plants in the country."

This is an important step in developing methods to deal with droughts and concerns over low-amounts of freshwater. As the general supply of freshwater appears to be dwindling from important reserves around the world, the development of an effective method of using the readily available seawater seems to be a good solution for the time being. Furthermore, because a good deal of the population of the planet lives on or near the coasts, seawater desalination could play an important role in keeping these people hydrated.

Regardless of whether you believe in human-induced global warming or not, the facts remain. As outlined coherently and succinctly by James Concan, a geologist writing for Forbes.com, he is correct in stating that we need to unite and face the reality that we are destroying the planet incrementally, which spells disaster for ourselves as a species. As a species, we have long treated the planet like our house, a large inanimate structure that can be molded or fit to any of our specifications. We have found out, and are continuing to find, that this is a powerful illusion that creates consequences that we are only beginning to see. Our planet is composed of countless living and breathing organisms that rely on one another to create and sustain life, an inextricably linked chain of ecosystems that existed before our species and is responsible for our continued existence. Thus, by affecting even the smallest organism, or its habitat, we are disturbing the harmony of life in levels we cannot quantify.

What does this mean? This means that human-caused changes, like desertification or mass-logging may yield new land for development, but at what cost? We have not yet learned to accurately asses the value of life, whether human or not, and how the life of non-human organisms are intrinsic to the success of our planet and species. We, humans, rely on fresh water and food to sustain ourselves. What happens when the fresh water continues to dwindle due to over consumption and pollution of it? What happens when the continued acidification of the ocean occurs decimating populations of fish everywhere and creating dead-zones where only algae can live? What happens when air quality becomes so poor that all urban centers must face what inhabitants of Beijing do? These are all questions that have arisen from our lack of self-control and policing when it comes to ignoring the ramifications of our treatment of our planet. The worst part about all of these questions, is that with action now, we could answer these with positive answers. The impetus for action is today, but with political deadlock and more pressing needs that require our attention, these questions will continue to linger, burning on the fires of our fossil fuels and ignorance.

Gina McCarthy was confirmed yesterday by the Senate to become the next administrator overseeing the Environmental Protection Agency under Barack Obama. McCarthy headed the air and radiation office for the EPA before being tapped and then confirmed for the top job in the EPA. McCarthy has long been a staunch proponent of regulations, specifically air, so her appointment is seen as a victory for environmentalists in stemming the ever-emitting greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Business officials also view this confirmation in a positive light due to McCarthy's strong record working with businesses to keep them in the loop and able to compete domestically and internationally. Although she was picked more than four months ago to head the EPA, McCarthy had to undergo an extensive process that required hundreds of questions concerning her background and goals as head of the EPA. Though there is support for McCarthy on both sides, some people, such as Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, are not quite as happy stating her regulations as unhealthy for business and without an alternative.

The United States has now a 10 Gigawatts solar photovoltaic capacity. It is the fourth country to reach this threshold.

According to the North America PV Market Quarterly report published by NPD Solarbuzz, the United States are now the fourth country to reach the 10 gigawatts solar power capacity after Germany, China and Italy.

Crude for August delivery CLQ3 -0.19% fell $1.61, or 1.5%, to settle at $104.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, slipping from its settlement on Wednesday, which was the highest since late March 2012.

IEA expects non-OPEC supply growth to outpace demand in 2013 and 2014.Prices had touched an intraday high in electronic trading of $107.45.Oil prices took a hit after the International Energy Agency predicted production from countries outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will rise by about 1.3 million barrels a day next year, an annual growth rate that “has only been achieved once in the last twenty years.” It estimated supply growth this year at 1.2 million barrels a day.Meanwhile, the IEA said global demand is likely to grow 1.2 million barrels a day in 2014. That compares with an upwardly revised forecast for oil demand growth of 930,000 barrels a day this year.